Nancy Kress: If Tomorrow Comes
May. 20th, 2018 12:09 amIf Tomorrow Comes, the second novel in Nancy Kress’ Yesterday’s Kin trilogy, begins about ten years after the conclusion of the first book. Earth has survived the spore cloud, but at great cost - in some regions, notably Russia/Central Asia, as many as 30 percent of the population have died due to mutations that disabled the immunity to the disease in most humans. Some animal species have been decimated, causing ecological chaos. Some humans want to reach out to their cousins on World - now called Kindred by most people - others blame then for the chais and destruction.
In the ten years that have passed, two ships have been build based on the ancient alien plans left by the Kindred - one by the US and other pro-Kindred factions, intended to carry a diplomatic mission, and the other by Russia, which is believed to have been destroyed after a failed attempt to disrupt the building of the US ship.
As the novel opens, just hours before the Friendship is due to depart, an elderly woman tries to contact authorities - she’s discovered something worrisome about her grandson, who is part of the team headed for World. But before she can make her concerns known, the, ship lifts off early, to foil any last minute sabotage attempts. As the focus of the narrative shifts to the voyagers, we the readers know only one thing - one of the men on board has a secret agenda.
The personnel of the Friendship is primarily diplomats and scientists - to open negotiations and, if necessary, assist the Kindred in the creation of a vaccine effective for their biology - and a squad of battle-hardened US Rangers. The journey, using alien technology, is fast and relatively uneventful. What happens when they arrive at World, however, is unexpected and catastrophic.
The first shock is the realisation, from star placements, that they have experienced a time dilation effect of 14 years, something the Kindred had not warned them about. Instead of arriving years before the spore cloud is due to reach Kindred, it is now due in less than three months. Suspicion, especially among the military contingent, is immediate, made worse by the fact that they have difficulty contacting World, and communicating once contact is made. And then disaster. The Russian ship appears above Kindred, fires on the Friendship, and then on the planet itself, destroying all of their major cities.
One shuttle, containing six Rangers and three scientists, reaches safety on Kindred. Where they find a largely agrarian, low-tech society and no viable vaccine. Most of the population has returned to family homesteads in the country where they are preparing to die.
The story that follows is one of repeated cultural clashes, and unexpected meetings of minds, not just between Terrans and Worlders, but between medical scientists and the military, as a desperate fight to save the planet from chaos and destruction begins.
It’s going to be very difficult waiting for volume three.
In the ten years that have passed, two ships have been build based on the ancient alien plans left by the Kindred - one by the US and other pro-Kindred factions, intended to carry a diplomatic mission, and the other by Russia, which is believed to have been destroyed after a failed attempt to disrupt the building of the US ship.
As the novel opens, just hours before the Friendship is due to depart, an elderly woman tries to contact authorities - she’s discovered something worrisome about her grandson, who is part of the team headed for World. But before she can make her concerns known, the, ship lifts off early, to foil any last minute sabotage attempts. As the focus of the narrative shifts to the voyagers, we the readers know only one thing - one of the men on board has a secret agenda.
The personnel of the Friendship is primarily diplomats and scientists - to open negotiations and, if necessary, assist the Kindred in the creation of a vaccine effective for their biology - and a squad of battle-hardened US Rangers. The journey, using alien technology, is fast and relatively uneventful. What happens when they arrive at World, however, is unexpected and catastrophic.
The first shock is the realisation, from star placements, that they have experienced a time dilation effect of 14 years, something the Kindred had not warned them about. Instead of arriving years before the spore cloud is due to reach Kindred, it is now due in less than three months. Suspicion, especially among the military contingent, is immediate, made worse by the fact that they have difficulty contacting World, and communicating once contact is made. And then disaster. The Russian ship appears above Kindred, fires on the Friendship, and then on the planet itself, destroying all of their major cities.
One shuttle, containing six Rangers and three scientists, reaches safety on Kindred. Where they find a largely agrarian, low-tech society and no viable vaccine. Most of the population has returned to family homesteads in the country where they are preparing to die.
The story that follows is one of repeated cultural clashes, and unexpected meetings of minds, not just between Terrans and Worlders, but between medical scientists and the military, as a desperate fight to save the planet from chaos and destruction begins.
It’s going to be very difficult waiting for volume three.